Media Access Project Canada

Kamloops This Week, 10 Nov 2017 - A quarter-century ago, Abbotsford had its moment of clarity with respect to drugs and gangs. After repeated denials by the city's municipal police department that gangs were active in the Fraser Valley city, the truth was laid bare when 18-year-old Kirby Martin was shot and killed in a parking lot of a mall along the city's main strip, South Fraser Way.

Winnipeg Sun, 10 Nov 2017 - Legal pot sales could lead to $95M annual profits for province Legal pot sales in Manitoba could raise as much as $95 million a year for government after five years if the province could take over 80% of the black market, according to recent figures released by the Pallister government.

The News, 09 Nov 2017 - Nova Scotians thinking that next July they'll be able to nip down to the corner pot shop whenever they want, might want to chill until they see the province's plan. Cannabis will be legal next summer, but the rules and regulations are yet to come and Nova Scotia, along with the other Atlantic Provinces, will create tightly controlled, strictly regulated environments.

The Sun Times, 09 Nov 2017 - Many Canadians can hardly wait for the day that the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal. As a doctor, I'm far less enthusiastic. I worry about two things: the experimental nature of marijuana in medical practice, and the public health consequences of legalized marijuana. Before you write me off as overly prudish or an anti-marijuana conservative, let me say that I'm not opposed to legalized marijuana in principle. I'm just paying attention to the evidence, or rather, the lack of it. My concern is that as marijuana becomes more easily available, Canadians may become more inclined to self-medicate with this drug.

Winnipeg Sun, 09 Nov 2017 - MGEU off-base when it comes to private pot stores Manitoba's largest union is accusing the Pallister government of compromising the safety of Manitobans and foregoing millions in profits by allowing private retailers to sell marijuana once it becomes legal next year.

Vancouver 24hours, 09 Nov 2017 - The guidelines are strict but it won't matter According to new marijuana marketing guidelines released Wednesday by The Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Branding after working with Advertising Standards Canada, companies marketing marijuana will not be able to use animals to sell pot nor will be they be able to promote the use of cannabis itself ( just brand preference) and they will be required to advertise in places where over 70 per cent of the audience is adult (or above the age of majority in the particular province).

Revelstoke Times Review, 08 Nov 2017 - Staff at Revelstoke Secondary School now have a new tool to keep students safe. The high school received two Naloxone kits at the end of September. Naloxone is used to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose.

Revelstoke Times Review, 08 Nov 2017 - The fentanyl crisis in B.C. continues to worsen. In the past five years, the province has gone from 12 fentanyl-related deaths to 823 between between January and August this year. There have been no fentanyl-related deaths reported in Revelstoke, but RCMP still believe that the powerful opioid has made its way into the community.

The Williams Lake Tribune, 08 Nov 2017 - Editor: The question is not when our government will decriminalize personal possession and provide a safe clean drug source, like we do for alcohol and soon to be marijuana, but how many more families will be devastated with the loss of a loved one before a government is brave enough to value lives over votes.

Penticton Western, 08 Nov 2017 - Being illegal - for now - makes it hard to pin down just how big the market for marijuana is, but one estimate suggests it's at least as large as hard liquor sales, about $5 billion annually. The report, from financial services firm Deloitte, estimates the market for legalized recreational marijuana could give Canada's economy a $22.6 billion annual boost when you include growers, equipment suppliers and the like.

Chronicle Herald, 07 Nov 2017 - For months, Ralph (all names have been changed), neighbour to my friend The Chairman, has left his house only for doctor visits and a couple of hospital stints. That's not for lack of trying. Prescribed mind-numbing meds put the former coal miner into a fog. Several times he insisted that he needed to go outside, rolled his wheelchair to the front door, tried to stand but instead tumbled, like laundry out of a basket, like a milk bottle smashed on the floor.

Toronto Star, 07 Nov 2017 - Canada's response to the opioid crisis has been fragmented and marginally effective at best. We deserve a better approach, and the answers are out there. Other countries are effectively dealing with the issue and Canada should be more open to learning from them. There are several key steps we can take to ensure Canadians with addiction can lead healthier, happier and more productive lives. First, we need to recognize this is actually a crisis. Do you remember SARS and how it impacted every Canadian with a focused response from our public health teams? Forty-four Canadians died from SARS. How about AIDS at its peak in 1995? We all were aware of the crisis and as Canadians we worked together diligently to help. That year about 1,400 people died from AIDS. Compare this to over 2,400 Canadians dying from opioid overdoses in 2016 and the number likely to double in 2017.

The Expositor, 07 Nov 2017 - Mayor Chris Friel says he isn't surprised that Brantford is not among the first Ontario cities selected to have legal marijuana stores by next July. "All of the cities on the list have had problems with illegal dispensaries," Friel said Monday.

Winnipeg Sun, 07 Nov 2017 - WINNIPEG - Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister signalled Monday that the province's private sector will be involved in the distribution of marijuana when recreational use is legalized next July. Pallister said details of the provincial plan to govern cannabis would be released Tuesday. He rejected earlier statements from the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union that sales should be done exclusively through government-run stores.

Barrie Examiner, 04 Nov 2017 - Province releases list of 14 municipalities to receive green light for marijuana stores Green Sprouts Cafe and Vapor Lounge owners allow people to rent bongs in their shop to vape marijuana. But all that might change next year since Barrie has been given the nod and a wink by the province to open one of the first legal cannabis shops.

Winnipeg Free Press, 04 Nov 2017 - Province says top concern must be health, safety KEEPING cannabis out of the hands of minors will be of paramount concern when the Pallister government announces how the drug will be legally sold in Manitoba, Justice Minister Heather Stefanson says.

Winnipeg Free Press, 04 Nov 2017 - MANITOBA Liquor and Lotteries (MLL) wants to handle all angles of legal pot in Manitoba - everything including production, distribution and sales. The Crown corporation said Friday that it submitted an expression of interest to the government of Premier Brian Pallister in September.

The Niagara Falls Review, 04 Nov 2017 - Despite the local buzz about legal marijuana, setting up a pot shop in Niagara was apparently not a high priority for the provincial government. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which will run new marijuana stores through a subsidiary, announced Friday the first 14 cities where legal pot shops will be located when recreational marijuana becomes legal next July.

The Recorder & Times, 04 Nov 2017 - Leeds-Grenville was left out in the weeds as the province announced the first 14 cities that will get government-run pot shops next summer. The LCBO, the agency responsible for running the new dispensaries, announced the first batch of selected locations Friday, and though the area may be home to Tweed, the country's largest cannabis manufacturing company, you won't be able to buy it at any physical location throughout the counties.

Toronto Star, 04 Nov 2017 - The end of Prohibition gave birth to the LCBO nearly a century ago. Now the legalization of marijuana is giving rise to the OCRC: Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation. That's about as awkward an acronym - if not anachronism - as the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. While today's LCBO has become a brand in its own right, it's fair to say the OCRC will never become a household word.

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Who we are

The Canadian Harm Reduction Network is the virtual meeting place for individuals and organizations dedicated to reducing the social, health and economic harms associated with drugs and drug policies.

What is Harm Reduction?

Harm Reduction refers to policies, programs and practices that aim to reduce the negative health, social and economic consequences that may ensue from the use of legal and illegal psychoactive drugs, without necessarily reducing drug use. Its cornerstones are public health, human rights and social justice. It benefits people who use drugs, families and communities.

Harm Reduction is underpinned with the knowledge that many drug-related problems are not the result of the drugs themselves; rather they are the consequences of the unregulated manufacture and trade of drugs and the enduring commitment to failed policies and ill-thought-out and inequitably applied laws.

Finally, Harm Reduction ensures that people who use psychoactive substances are treated with respect and without stigma, and that substance-related problems and issues are addressed systemically.